March 26, 2012

It Must be an Homage to the Brown Hornet.

For some 11 episodes, Bodacious Space Pirates has been an intelligent, enjoyable and even inspiring tale. Each episode has built on the last one in a deliberate and entertaining fashion. Even the techno-babble has been thoughtful and contributed to the story. As an added bonus, despite the lowbrow temptations presented by short skirts, Zero-G and the state of the industry today, we haven't had a single upskirt shot yet.

The show has had some important and rarely touched on things to say about the responsibilities of command and leadership. Young Marika is actually in a position not unlike that of a green ensign or "90 day wonder" dropped in command of a small unit virtually every member of which has been doing their jobs longer far than her. She has had to learn to delegate, take advice and cope with the fact that the buck stops with her, and it is upon her decisions that the crew will live or die. This has been handled with far more intelligence and subtly than one has any right to expect from a show like this.

This interesting plot has been intertwined with a slowly but logically building story of interstellar intrigue that has gradually built into a tale that looked to be nothing short of epic.

Which brings us to episode 12 which saw the suspense build to a crescendo as events converge upon the crew of the BentenMaru and their passenger. Everything has led up to this point. This episode in particular was brilliantly paced, so much so that 16 minutes in I was literally on the edge of my seat as...

I'm sorry...WHAT!?

Wow...that was really...umm...a surprise.
"Oh BTW we handled this whole thing off camera."